Mama's Family mined humor from a squabbling family in the Midwestern blue collar suburb of Raytown. The noisy clan was headed by "Mama" Thelma, a buxom, gray-haired widow with sharp opinions and a sharper tongue who shared her small house with her high-strung sister Fran, a journalist for a local paper. Mama's lazy, dimwitted son, Vint, a locksmith by trade, moved in at the start of the series with his troublesome teenage children, Buzz and Sonja, after his wife run off to become a Las Vegas show-girl. Much to Mama's disgust, Vint soon took up with the flirtatious neighbor Naomi. The two where married in early 1983, and Naomi moved in too. Further uproar was caused by the periodic visits from Mama's two married daughter's, the foul mouthed Eunice and the snobbish Ellen. Ed was Eunice's Dolt of a husband. In the Fall of 86 Mama's Family returned to TV in first-run syndication. Fran had recently passed (Rue McClanahan was now starring in The Golden Girls) and Ed and Eunice had moved to Florida, leaving behind their son Bubba as he finishes his time in Juvenile Hall and forcing him to move in. Meanwhile, neighbor Iola Boylen makes the house's acquaintance and becomes a regular visitor with her unique charm.
When the family starts thinking about selling a brooch that belonged to Grandma Crowley, her ghost (played by Vicki Lawrence) starts haunting Mama.
After Uncle Oscar passes away, Mama is willed his gabby pet parrot. The bird then starts reciting verses in rhyme, which the family thinks are clues that will lead them to Oscar's rumored hidden treasure.
When Raytown is crowded due to the Tri-State Fair, the Harpers decide to rent out a room in their house in order to make some money. However, they end up overbooking and needing to rent out three rooms, leading to chaos between all the houseguests.
After winning a trip to Hawaii on Jeopardy!, Mama and her family go on the trip, along with Iola. Iola and Bubba each find romance, Mama is pestered by a man she believes is a beach bum, and Naomi is confined to the hotel room with a terrible sunburn.
Naomi's second ex-husband returns to seek her favor.
After coming back from a cousin's funeral where she and Effie were the only mourners, Mama starts planning her own lavish send off.
Mama suspects that Vint is having an affair with his new trainee Heather, so she and Iola go to his workplace to investigate.
Vint and Naomi get together, much to Mama's chagrin.
Wanda Lynn, Bubba's sexy date for the prom, stands him up at the last minute and Bubba cannot find anyone else. Without Bubba's knowledge, Mama sets him up with Iola's nerdy niece, Vernette.
After Bubba comes home late and drunk, Mama is enraged and gives him an excessive punishment. He does not know why she is being so irrational, until Iola tells him (via flashback) about a similar incident involving Eunice when she was Bubba's age.
Didi, an old friend of Naomi's and a professional wrestler, talks Naomi into being a last-minute substitute for her ailing tag-team partner for a match. When Mama accidentally knocks Didi out just before the match, Naomi and Mama have to wrestle against Didi's weighty opponents.
Bubba and Mama are graduating from high school, but devastating news for Bubba forces Valedictorian Mama to ensure that she and Bubba and make it to the graduation ceremony in time.
When Mama embarrasses Vinton at work with the "Binky Bunny" lunchbox she made for him when he was a kid, she must find a way to cure him of his trauma before he loses his job.
When Naomi is upset about her baby being late, Mama tries to calm her down with a false story about Carl. Mama tells Iola what really happened (both the false and true versions are seen in flashback, with Carl played by Ken Berry). Later that day, Naomi goes into labor and Mama ends up delivering her baby girl, Tiffany Thelma Harper.
Vinton and Naomi persuade Mama to make some creative deductions on her income tax form, which results in a visit from an IRS agent.
A man from the State Department asks the Harpers to host a Russian national named Olga for one day, as part of "Project Heartland." Unfortunately, their actions persuade her to defect to America.
Naomi decides that she wants to have a baby. Mama, who is determined to prevent this, arranges for a neighbor's constantly screaming baby to spend the day with Naomi and Vinton.
Vinton and Naomi buy an RV and plan to move to a trailer park; however, they are unable to start the vehicle once it is in the driveway. Meanwhile, Mama is planning to host a fancy backyard luncheon for an snooty society group called the Dames.
Eunice and Mama wind up in jail after they cause a disturbance at the Bigger Jigger.
Mama throws a fit when she realizes they buried her husband in the wrong cemetery plot.
Vint gets roped into a crazy scheme to marry an illegal alien for money.
Mama decides to take a self defense course after being mugged.
After attending a family wedding, Bubba, Mama, and Iola fantasize about what married life would be like with the objects of their affections.
It's Valentine's Day, and Mama falsely says she has a date so that Iola will feel free to go out. To support her lie, Mama orders an escort from "Rent-a-Gent."
Bubba's credibility is doubted when he shows up with a new drum set around the same time Iola's pearls go missing.